“I got several candidates in mind, and there are a couple of places I’m concerned about.
I’ll take a look if I still have time after my night walk around the city.”

While Shinichi was hacking here and there, he also searched for suspicious places in the academy.
After comparing with the map of the premises, he managed to find some blank areas, places with energy but wasn’t connected to the network.
He also happened to find a place connected to everything as if it were a central brain of some sort.
Shinichi intended to check that out first.

“I didn’t expect to make a move right on the first day, but this will probably work to our advantage. It’s doubtful our observers would expect us to make a move so soon, after all.”

“In that case, I will be watching the room while you’re away.
The phantom (Girou) me shall deal with any… unexpected visitors.”

As she muttered, “Order and attribute” with that small body of hers, her body suddenly changed into one just like Shinichi’s.
The illusionary magic, Girou, was a magic that confused the surrounding area by showing an illusion.
It could be used to confuse the enemy or change one’s appearance to flee from one’s pursuers.
It was a kind of magic with many uses, making it very popular over at Falandia.
Of course, because of that there were also a lot of countermeasures for it.

“Say cheese!”

“Cheese!”

Shinichi took a picture of Youko with his Foster, but the picture that came out was his own appearance.
Shinichi wasn’t happy, however, for Youko’s smile was too forced.
As a result, he reflexively deleted the photo.

“We can fake sound and light with mana, and the photon signals will save them as is. That’s pretty convenient.”

Photon cameras can’t see through illusion arts.
Shinichi wasn’t sure about normal cameras yet, but for the meantime, these people, who didn’t know anything about illusion magic, shouldn’t be able to see through their magic.
But because of that Shinichi also couldn’t use it to sneak about.

“Mana will be covering your whole body, after all. The sensors are bound to pick that up.
If it’s just the normal amount a student uses, it might still pass as a barrier, but…”

For someone like him, who wanted to go to various places while erasing every bit of his presence, it was not a method he could use.
He would really have liked to use that method, but alas… Shinichi sighed.

“…Master, have you been refraining from using Masquerade since coming here?

She found that odd.
After all, if Shinichi just took on that form, he would be able to go anywhere.
That was the power of Falandia’s legendary item, but for some reason, ever since arriving at Earth, Shinichi’s been refraining from using it.
He would still use it when forced to, but he’s clearly been avoiding to as if it were the plague.
She found that very odd, so when Shinichi finally gave her the reason after a long period of silence, she was caught completely off guard.

“………………………Because it’s embarrassing.”

“Hah?”

“I said it’s embarrassing! Over there it might not matter, but having to pose while calling out the name of the tool is really embarrassing in this world!! Seriously!!”

That mask was something entrusted to him in Falandia, it was also a sort of duty.
The masked assassin, Masquerade, was extremely popular, such that even children knew of his name.
That fame made it bearable over in Falandia, but using it in this world, where no one has ever heard of it, was just too embarrassing.
Unfortunately, Youko, who was born and raised in Falandia, could not comprehend Shinichi’s feeling.

“Umm, in other words, it’s that?
That ‘Chuunibyou’ thing you mentioned once upon a time?” [1]

So she decided to ask about that term she once heard of in the past.
She didn’t really understand the significance of that word, but Shinichi found it especially painful to see her say that word with the same body and face as his.

“…On top of that, I got it exactly while I was in my middle school years. Ha ha…”

Shinichi’s shoulders dropped as he laughed languidly.
The mask was entrusted to him about a month and a half after he arrived at Falandia.
In other words, it was entrusted to him when he was 13 years-old and had just become a second year middle student.

“Uh, umm… I’m sorry?”

“Forget it. It’s not like I haven’t used it before since coming here.
Let’s just use it and get this search started already.”

Shinichi said those last bits out loud to himself, then he handed his foster over to Youko.
She would be acting as him, after all.
Her having the foster would make it easier for her to pull off the act.
Shinichi shrugged off the needless embarrassment he felt, then as he covered his face with his right hand as usual, he moved his hands in a way that seemed like he was pulling something down and covering something.

Masquerade!

The moment Shinichi called out that name, a white mask appeared over his face, and the black uniform he wore became even blacker, so black it seemed to meld into the black of the night.

The school uniform he was wearing already fit his body snugly, but after the mana from the mask eroded it, even the very lines of his body disappeared.

If one were to look at Shinichi now, they would only see a blurred image, but from Shinichi’s perspective, the black clothes and cloak were perfectly clear.

That was another reason why he found it so embarrassing to use.

“Umm… Say cheese!”

Youko took a picture of Shinichi in masquerade, but when the picture appeared on the foster’s screen, only a lump of black mist appeared.

As expected.

When Shinichi spoke, the voice that resounded was not his. It was an odd voice that could either be young or old and even male or female.
One could still feel the praise within those words, however.

In the best case, people would just assume the camera to be broken or that something’s blocking it, but it would still be better if I’m not seen.

Those black clothes were emitting a wave that hid Shinichi’s identity.
It was a power different from mana, so the photon sensors couldn’t pick it up.
On top of that, it could also block ‘seeing’ techniques and ‘listening’ techniques.
As for why Youko could tell where he was, that’s because she was watching him the moment he put on the mask.
Oddly enough, Masquerade has a couple of holes in its concealment technique like that one.
Another example would be that one wouldn’t be noticed with a normal touch, but if one were to attack like one were attacking the demon king, he would immediately be noticed.
Not even Falandia is privy to how the item works. After all, it is a legendary item.

Incidentally, Shinichi was planning to return it if he was able to return without being caught and was able to conclude that there wouldn’t be any problems living on Earth.
Unfortunately, with the current situation at hand, Shinichi didn’t even have the time to go back, much less return it.

I’m off then. Close the lights at a suitable time.

“Very well, I shall act asleep while I wait for your return!”

Seeing one’s own face say that with a smile felt odd, but Shinichi decided to just endure it and follow after Youko as she headed toward the veranda.

As soon as Youko opened the window, she looked up at the night sky.

Like this the people observing them would think that ‘Shinichi’ only went to the veranda to watch the stars.

“They’re harder to see compared to Falandia’s, but I’ll give a passing mark.”

The dorm veranda was generally the backyard of the school. It was facing the natural fields.
From her perspective, it still wasn’t good enough, but regardless, a beautiful starry sky still spread over a lush field with no artificial lights.

“…Take care.”

Yeah.

Shinichi whispered in response without even turning to her as he jumped over the wall and vanished into the darkness.
Shinichi had jumped from the 14th floor, but with a flying skill and an impact-reduction skill at hand, he didn’t have any problems.